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November 16, 2014

Backyard Adventure: Black Widow Spider

With the weather being wet and cold right now, I wasn't expecting to find any live subjects to shoot in the yard. Finding this pretty girl nearly frozen under a stray log near the garage was like hitting the jackpot. After I took the photos, Matthew and I created a habitat setup to bring her in out of the cold. She's now comfortably settled in her new temporary home on our living room mantel. Time for a bit of Black Widow Research!

Ok, ok, ok...I'm not a scaredy cat, and I've seen black widows and brown recluses and poisonous snakes and other spiders...BUUUTTTTTT.....why would you bring her inside? She has the biology to survive a winter. Plus, if she gets out, then you have an actively dangerous animal in your house. Why would you do that?

I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't agree with you at least a little bit on this. I would have been perfectly fine letting her do her own thing for the rest of the winter season, but my boyfriend is another story. He's a hard core arachnid fan, and the Black Widow has always been his absolute favorite. He has quite a bit of experience keeping arachnids in captivity, and has kept a Black Widow in the past. I'm comfortable with the security of her habitat and so I'm not concerned about her escaping. We will be releasing her in the Spring, but until then we're enjoying feeding her and keeping her warm.